2016 IndyCar Series
The 2016 IndyCar Series will be the 21st IndyCar Series season. Drivers Changes *Galvantula replaced Pee Saderd for the Mid-Ohio round, after Saderd's season was cut short due to hospitalization. Saderd missed an IndyCar race for the first time since 2002. Summaries St. Pete Will Power won the pole. He was reported ill, and Oriol Servia took his place. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race for the second consecutive year; followed by Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Helio Castroneves finished fourth, his best finish overall since Milwaukee in 2015, in which he finished second. This was Castroneves' first top ten since Milwaukee 2015 after consecutive finishes outside the top ten. Joey Fatone finished fifth, his best finish since 2014 at Houston race 2 behind Simon Pagenaud. RHR was trying to pass Helio Castroneves for third late in the race and successfully did; spoiling the Penske podium sweep. Had Castroneves pass Hunter-Reay, an all-Penske podium would have happened for the first time since Sonoma 2011. Phoenix Hélio Castroneves took the pole. Phoenix made an IndyCar return after years away from the schedule, replacing the rainy NOLA Motorsports Park race. Juan Pablo Montoya's tire was down also, forcing Montoya to get the new tire with his Penske IndyCar teammate Castroneves. He eventually lost the lead to Scott Dixon, who led the last half of the race starting from the set of pit stops. Long Beach Because of Race Control issues, the Fast Six was 4 Penskes and 2 Ganassis; not Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, Juan Montoya, Scott Dixon and James Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe would then win Long Beach the next year. Eventual pole winner Hélio Castroneves leading the Honduras national IndyCar team originally eliminated in the second round, but Race Control fixed the issue and qualified them to the Fast Six. Helio Castroneves won the pole for the second consecutive race and also his second consecutive race at Long Beach. Hélio Castroneves pitted on the 20's laps for new tires and fuel and caused Ueli Kestenholz, born on the same day and year as Castroneves for the lead. Hélio Castroneves took the lead away from the Fairy-double resistance Heatran's side led by Ueli Kestenholz when the Czechs went to pit lane. The Honduran side led by Hélio Castroneves led the most laps in the race; but Simon Pagenaud won the race. BATC season 1 contestants expect the Honduran said that Simon Pagenaud should be penalized; however his win was not encumbered like Joey Logano's only 2017 win of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Barber Should BATC fans know at Barber that BATC needs to stop the Honduras pole streak? France successfully did, after Simon Pagenaud recorded a better lap than Will Power and beat him in the Firestone Fast Six. The 2016 Barber race was notable as after the first caution came out on the first lap for no start in the race; all drivers were running at the finish. Indianapolis GP The Grand Prix of Indianapolis is held on May 14; and the first time Germany's not hosting it because they decided to drive for Will Power; and Hélio Castroneves decided to move back to Central America. This was the first race of 2016 for rookie Matthew Braham and veteran Alex Tagliani. Spencer Pigot also returns. In qualifying round 1 group 1, a shock happened as many fans of Ben and Toad's Contest accepted Hélio Castroneves to qualify for Round 2. The Honduras national IndyCar team were upset in their qualifying session by a lower-ranked Netherlands national IndyCar team, which contained Froakie, Emmitt Smith and Gallade. Neither RHR nor HCN advanced to round 2 of qualifying. In qualifying group 2 round 1, the Penske trio of Power and Pagenaud advanced from their group. In qualifying round 2, a shock happened again. Six different drivers from six teams advanced to the Fast Six, the worst by the BATC Community since 2014. IndyCar officials said Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden, two of the 2015 championship contenders, were penalized in qualifying for an unapproved change. Surprisingly neither of the 2015 IndyCar Series season's top 3 in the standings, one of Will Power, Juan Pablo Montoya or Scott Dixon qualified for the Fast Six from round 2. Simon Pagenaud won the race; his third consecutive and his second Grand Prix of Indianapolis; having won in 2014. CONCACAF representatives Hélio Castroneves and James Hinchcliffe round the podium. Graham Rahal rallied back from 24th to finish 4th in the race; the best jump for a driver starting 24th since Castroneves in Milwaukee last year. Charlie Kimball continued his hot-streak of top 5 finishes at Indy GP by finishing 5th. Indy 500 Will a driver end Pagenaud's win streak? Yes it is, with rookie Alexander Rossi winning his first ever IndyCar race. Mid-Ohio A change happened with Galvantula coming in as the Russia national IndyCar team captain after Pee Saderd was forced to miss the next two Celebrity Family Feud episodes (The Band Perry vs. Giuliana Rancic and Melissa Joan Hart vs. Paul Sorvino and Bachelors vs. Bachelorettes and Verizon IndyCar Series Drivers vs. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models) as well as Mid-Ohio with appendix surgery, his surgeon told him. Saderd then returned as captain for the remainder of the season, and for the last four Celebrity Family Feud tournaments. Simon Pagenaud, despite driving with an injury on his back, won the race. Watkins Glen Scott Dixon won the race, having led 50 laps out of 60 and won it from the pole. Because of Will Power's crash, had Simon Pagenaud finish P8 or lower, Scott Dixon would've been part of championship contention. Since Pagenaud finished P7, all drivers from Kanaan until Munoz were eliminated from contention. BATC calls this race Grand Prix of Boston at the Glen. The race will also feature the remaining five finalists, including Takkatan Chonlada who set a BATC record for shortest contestant in the top five of a season (4 ft 10 in). If Chonlada were to win the 2016 BATC Season 8 trophy, Pee Saderd needed to qualify inside the top 20 and finish the race higher than 15th. Chonlada won the BATC Season 8 since Saderd qualified 18th and finished 12th. The winner of the season will be after the race. The race will return for the first time since 2010; and will feature the same laps and distance as 2010. Notable changes include RC Enerson replacing Gabby Chaves in the #19 car that Dale Coyne Racing owns. Another change is for the Russia national IndyCar team; they are swapping from their 2016 season squad used from races 1 until the revised Texas race into the 2017 IndyCar Series that is to have Pee Saderd as the team captain. This was due to DWTS announcing that James Hinchcliffe will be on season 23. Sonoma Main article: 2016 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma The entries are the same from Watkins Glen. The race doubles their points. James Hinchcliffe will not be part of the championship contenders at Sonoma on September 18 because of his Texas Motor Speedway penalty. Team Penske will win the title with either Simon Pagenaud or Will Power as the champion. Another change is Russia national IndyCar team swapping their 2016 squad into their 2017 squad for Sonoma. This will be the second and final time in the season in 2016 Russia swaps into their 2017 squad. Additionally, the race also carries out the BATC Season 9 Opening Ceremony, which will have English language songs expect for Russia's song, which was chosen by Pee Saderd automatically. RC Enerson replaces Gabby Chaves in the 19 again. Because he is on DWTS, James Hinchcliffe will need to try to do what Hélio Castroneves did with Will Power, the points leader that time; at Auto Club Speedway four years ago from his all star-season - dancing. If Takkatan Chonlada and Tai Orathai were to move on to week 2, Pee Saderd needs to avoid crashing out of the race or finishing last. Also, the first elimination of BATC season 9 will take place before the race. But since Saderd finished 8th, none of Orathai or Chonlada were terminated. Simon Pagenaud won the race and title after Will Power was commented to an early exit in the first half. Squads References Category:2016 in sports Category:IndyCar